by Misty Severi
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a memorandum that directs federal agencies to intensify investigations into groups they suspect of supporting political violence.
The order is directed at what officials call “domestic terrorism and organized political violence being perpetrated by radical, politically motivated groups, according to CNN. It also follows the Sept. 10 killing of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
“We’re going to get out there, and we’re going to do a pretty big number on those people,” Trump said from the Oval Office.
He also said “wealthy people” are funding political violence and cited liberal donors George Soros and Reid Hoffman as possible targets of investigation.
The Justice Department is reportedly considering opening a probe into Soros’ liberal nonprofit Open Society Foundations over allegations that it has funded political violence, the New York Times reported. Hoffman is a billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn.
Trump said that Soros, a Hungarian hedge fund billionaire, is a “likely candidate” for investigation but acknowledged that other people were also still on the list.
“Could be a lot of people,” he said. “If they are funding these things they’re going to have some problems, because they’re agitators and they’re anarchists.”
Open Society Foundations said that the allegations were “without evidence.”
The foundation added that it condemns terrorism and does not support or fund it.
“Our activities are peaceful and lawful, and our grantees are expected to abide by human rights principles and comply with the law,” the group said in a statement reported by USA Today. “These accusations are politically motivated attacks on civil society, meant to silence speech the administration disagrees with and undermine the First Amendment right to free speech. When power is abused to take away the rights of some people, it puts the rights of all people at risk.”
The foundation also said its work in America is “dedicated to strengthening democracy and upholding constitutional freedoms. We stand by the work we do to improve lives in the United States and across the world.”
The Open Society Foundations donated money to Invidisible, which put on anti-Trump protests this year. Invidsible, which was created to resist Trump, put on the “Hands Off!” protest in April, “No Kings” protest in June, and the “Good Trouble Lives On” protest in July.
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Misty Severi is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Photo “George Soros” by Aris Oikonomou – European Commission. CC BY 4.0.
